HIQA launches public consultation on health technology assessment of use of teledermatology

HIQA has today launched a public consultation seeking feedback from the public on its draft health technology assessment (HTA) of teledermatology to support the management of primary care referrals. This was requested by the Health Service Executive (HSE), with the aim of informing a decision on whether to introduce teledermatology for this purpose in Ireland.

If teledermatology is introduced, GPs will be able to include photos when referring a patient to a dermatologist. The dermatologist will use the photos alongside the referral letter to help decide how urgently the patient needs to be seen or whether their condition can continue to be managed in a primary care setting.